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Topic: Hardtop Land Rovers in SVN (Read 17760 times)

I wasn't aware of any windowed panel census, that is a carryall by definition I thought....

The census lists are transcribed from the book holding ALL census codes, only some are used for land rovers. The book at bandiana makes for interesting reading actually (We have an electronic copy thanks to bandiana in the form of photos of each page).

The ones noted as being, was this or that, is where the census codes have been changed with changes in vehicles I believe. IE, they got new vehicles, and changed an old census instead of making a new one to apply to that vehicle. Or perhaps a wholesale change to a fleet, such as removing windows.

A friend was in the 33rd Dental Unit - the Vietnamese were awed by the fact we had thirty-three dental units and must have had an enormous army! The dentists and techs went along with it except some vietnamese wag explained that Aussies had rotten teeth.

I have been looking over commander diaries in the AWM collection and read that (contrary to what would be expected), the Topo Survey variant was not used in SVN...

...by "Section A 1 Topographical Survey Troop RASC" which had a manned strength varying between 15 and 20 (total Officers and OR).

There are detailed monthly diaries from arrival in country in late May '66 until RTA in late Sept '71. The annexes detail all the tasks and items in their stores.

On June 7 '66, at 1500hrs, after the unloading of HMAS Sydney at 1200hrs, they get their vehicles which are 2 x 3/4 ton Landrovers and "4 trailers cargo". The Landy ARNs are 111-434 (6006) and 113-130 (6028). Trailer ARNs are not noted. The unit loaded them direct from their Randwick on May 23rd.

In July of '69 the 113-130 (6028) is in a MVA and gets a BLR. In Aug '69 a replacement vehicle "was received" and its 174-406 (6028) complete with "Part 1, CES 2007".

In Sept of 71 the troop gets their RTA order and mentions the 2 x 3/4 ton vehicles but not the specific ARNs. IMHO its safe to assume they are 111-434 and 174-406.

The code 6006 doesn't sit well with me, what with the Unit being a Survey Unit. 6006 and most of its derivatives usually mean a FFR/ FFT (depending on the equipment it carried) and I can't see much necessity for a specialised radio vehicle such as that being of any benefit to a Surveyor.Some of the 6028 range would fit nicely, perhaps someone a bit slack left the last letter off the census code???The photograph of the carryall on the back of the Mk 3 on the back of the trailer fits in well with the quotation; "In July of '69 the 113-130 (6028) is in a MVA and gets a BLR. In Aug '69 a replacement vehicle "was received" and its 174-406 (6028) complete with "Part 1, CES 2007"." I would suggest that perhaps that carryall may have belonged to the Survey Corps, perhaps the boss had a toothache and his vehicle was photographed outside the Dental Unit, and photographed again at Nui Dat after he had recovered, (More plausible than the dentist travelling up to the Dat to do a job when his more comfortable surgery was at Vungers) and that this vehicle was the one that was involved in an accident and RTA'd under BLR and once again photographed in transit from the Ordnance Depot to its awaiting homeward transport. Someone somewhere looks to have left a letter off the census code in some part of the recording process.The photograph Mike C referred to on p26, to me, shows a different coloured roof (white ivory) compared to the pictured vehicle's O/D.RegardsGlen

Tommy

I have been looking over commander diaries in the AWM collection and read that (contrary to what would be expected), the Topo Survey variant was not used in SVN...

...by "Section A 1 Topographical Survey Troop RASC" which had a manned strength varying between 15 and 20 (total Officers and OR).

There are detailed monthly diaries from arrival in country in late May '66 until RTA in late Sept '71. The annexes detail all the tasks and items in their stores.

On June 7 '66, at 1500hrs, after the unloading of HMAS Sydney at 1200hrs, they get their vehicles which are 2 x 3/4 ton Landrovers and "4 trailers cargo". The Landy ARNs are 111-434 (6006) and 113-130 (6028). Trailer ARNs are not noted. The unit loaded them direct from their Randwick on May 23rd.

In July of '69 the 113-130 (6028) is in a MVA and gets a BLR. In Aug '69 a replacement vehicle "was received" and its 174-406 (6028) complete with "Part 1, CES 2007".

In Sept of 71 the troop gets their RTA order and mentions the 2 x 3/4 ton vehicles but not the specific ARNs. IMHO its safe to assume they are 111-434 and 174-406.

I find it curious that they didn't use at least one Topo Landy.

I'm not sure if you have seen this document Carzee. It lists all units and year they were deployed to SVN. May help with your research.

Thx Tommy, those dates re Topo Survey Tp match up. That is a great doc, good bit of reference (well, it doesn't get much better- it dates from May 72, a few weeks after the last to RTA, HQAFV 15mar72).

113130 was pronounced BLR, but remained in SVN: written off 17/1/1972 by 2AOD, and junked at the US Produce office in VT.111434, an FFR, was w/o in March 1969.174406 was involved in an MVA in 1969 while serving with 26 Tpt Coy; transferred to 2AOD, reissued to 1 Topo Svy Coy as a replacement vehicle, who promptly pranged it in July 1970; replacement issued, pranged vehicle transferred to 2AOD as stock.

That leaves 1 Topo Svy with replacement transport from (1) March 69 and (2) July 70, for the rest of their tour.

Carzee states....

'The Topo Svy was not used in South Vietnam'[/i]: I think I listed that it was in the table in M&D: don't you believe me?

So much for assumptions based on a unit diary. In another thread we discussed that (some) specialist units repatriated their stores/vehicles differently; separated from other stores. Other units returned their stores/vehicles to 2AOD before RTA.

Mike has supplied 2AOD info that 1 Topo no longer had the vehicles mentioned by ARN in their unit diary up to Aug 69; that at some time after Aug 69 and during 70-71 they changed vehicles. Cool.Why they did not list the specific ARNs of those vehicles when shipping their stores/vehicles back to Sydney is anyone's guess. They recorded the vehicles ARN when they left Sydney, but when they return, they bring 2 replacement vehicles ARNs unk.

Back to the table in the book, as yet I haven't got M&D.

Now I have the book and the tables say... 3 Topos, 5 Panels, 4 Carryalls (deployed w dental detachmt).